................A behind the scenes look at how designer Jennifer Griffin brings her vision to life................

Fire In the Soul

"Fire In the Soul" From the Merka series in The Elves of the Woodland Realm

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Artist Showcase

Things have really gotten away from me with the whirlwind of Halloween orders, making costumes for mu kids, finishing unpacking and other business happenings.
One of those happenings is Reformation Brewery's Artist Showcase. You can red there more about what the showcase is. But for those that cannot attend here are some images and the story of my piece for you to enjoy.

When I heard about the artist showcase I knew right away what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to do a mixed media sculpture. Sculpting is not a strong-suit for me as I have only sculpted a face one other time and I have had no training. I am completely self taught. With this piece I wanted to do a larger face and bust, then add some natural elements.

I started with a wreath table stand since it had a heavy base to hold the weight of the piece. I sprayed it black, as it was gold and gold wouldn't work.

I added a round floral foam ball so the piece wouldn't weigh so much and so the piece wasn't solid clay. Otherwise it would never dry since I am using natural stone, air dry clay. I used heavy gauge wire and foil to form the framing for the shoulders and bust. I then sculpted the clay over the foam/wire/foil base. I did not use any molds, this is sculpted entirely by hand.

Then there was a little accident involving a 3 year old and the floor. Let's just say that those two things are not good for wet clay and I had to resculpt her face.

After many hours of work and a few tears, I was able to finish her on time for the installation.

I used as many natural items as possible. I used natural stone clay, natural tree bark collect from my back yard, natural sheet moss and reindeer moss, natural Spanish moss, natural preserved hops flowers, and preserved greens. I added some high quality silk greens and moss covered wire for filling in. I used acrylics and Faber-Castell gelatos to paint her face and bust.

The title of this piece is, Uncontrived

Natural preserved hops flowers

She's not perfect and I have a long way to go in refining my sculpting techniques and abilities, especially a face, but I love how she turned out. If you are local, come by Reformation Brewery's Keeping Room to view this piece and 16 other artists pieces November 6th through November 22nd 2015 at their artist showcase.